Represenations of Vlad Tepes in Wester Media

Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler, is perhaps the most popular Romanian figure in western media this is owed much to Bram Stoker’s Dracula in which the Romanian vaivode is the inspiration for the novel’s main villain, the vampire Dracula. As a result there have been many instances in which the western media has merged their identities and gave rise to the notion that Vlad Tepes is Dracula, and Dracula is Vlad Tepes, reaching the point where the two cannot be spoken of as different entities.

Most western forms of entertainment deal with Tepes as Dracula and present him as such, Count Dracula the great vampire, however there have been instances in which Vlad Tepes is discussed as a historical figure, although it always seems to lead back to his Dracula persona. Still, these movies offer a chance for audiences to learn a thing or two about the history and culture of Romania despite their overall mystification.